Experiences of grade 9 teachers in supporting progressed learners’writing skills in English first additional language

Abstract

The progression policy states that progressed learners should be given academic support in the grade they have progressed to. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the experiences of grade 9 English FAL teachers in supporting progressed learners writing skills. This was a qualitative, phenomenological study that involved two schools in the Chris Hani East district in the Eastern Cape Province. Participants were five English teachers, purposefully drawn from these two schools. Data were collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews and an open-ended questionnaire. The analysis of data were done through thematic analysis, where data were coded, categorized, and grouped into themes. The theoretical framework that underpins this study is Cummins’ language acquisition theory and Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. The findings suggest that stakeholders’ understanding of roles and responsibilities in the implementation of the progression policy is key for successful implementation of the policy. Furthermore, progressed learners’ language skills development needs to be enhanced as they are far below the expected grade 9 level of competency. This study recommends that the Department of Basic Education should train all stakeholders to understand their roles and responsibilities in the implementation of the progression policy. Furthermore teachers should develop progressed learners’ competency levels of their language skills current. All stakeholders should prioritize supporting grade 9 progressed learners and teachers should use collaborative teaching strategies to facilitate the inclusion of progressed learners in an English FAL classroom.